In the hours after Dwight Howard listened to the final pledges and pitches out of Kobe Bryant and Mitch Kupchak, Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban, the most recruited basketball star on the planet promises to be 30,000 feet in the air, flying to a retreat outside California to consider the possibilities of his free-agent decision.

Soon, Howard will make a choice on where he'll sign his free-agent contract, and three years of stops and starts, indecision and insecurities, will finally leave him with his own choice, his own consequences on his career.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks were the final two teams to make presentations to Howard and his representatives on Tuesday, five teams marching into a room and selling visions to the franchise center. Golden State, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles were invited to make bids for Howard.

The Rockets remain frontrunners for Howard, but Howard is still giving consideration to remaining with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources said.